My Town
by DatNuttyKid
Summary: Antics of a human mayor in a town of animals. (Based off of New Leaf, Happy Home Designer, and amiibo Festival. Description sucks, but... I mean, it's Animal Crossing. How do you want me to describe it?)
1. Welcome to Village

**So yeah, I decided to see how long it would take for me to stress out and give up if I had to keep up with three fanfictions, a webcomic (btw I have a webcomic, it's called Pokefinder, look for it on ), my real life acting stuff, and trying to get my learner's permit. I'm betting on about two weeks. (No, I'll probably be fine with it, but don't expect my to update, like, "regularly" or something. Hah! Like "regular updates" is a thing.)**

 **That said, this is my first Animal Crossing fanfiction. It's based on a cross between my New Leaf town, Happy Home Designer, and amiibo Festival (because those are the three games I've been playing the most recently Animal Crossing-wise). The main characters are, therefore, characters who either 1) live in my New Leaf town, 2) I have built houses for in HHD, 3) I own the amiibo of for amiibo Festival, or 4) have a major role in one of the three aforementioned games.**

 **Uhhh yeah, I'm pretty sure I covered everything. Oh right, I don't own Animal Crossing. There's a shock. (One of these days I'll write a fanfiction for something I** _ **do**_ **own. Wait, would that actually count as a fanfiction, or…?)**

 **Alrighty! Let's get on with it.**

Goldie sighed in relief as she placed her Minimalist Stool in front of the couch. Finally, her house was finished, and she officially lived in the town of Village. She turned around, her eyes landing on the pile of cardboard boxes leaning against the wall. She mentally realized how expensive it would be get Reese to scrap all of it for her and sighed, walking over to try to pick it up.

A few moments later, she had precariously stacked most of the boxes in her arms and was making her way to the door, when suddenly it flung open.

"Hey Goldie!" greeted her visitor loudly, shocking the poor beagle into stumbling backwards and burying herself in the boxes. The culprit winced audibly before walking over and helping Goldie up.

"Hi Jon," Goldie said halfheartedly to her new visitor, who was not only the mayor of Village, but also its only human inhabitant.

"I see you finished unpacking," he remarked, looking at her house. "It looks great!"

"Thanks. Now I just need to get these cardboard boxes to Reese and pay the fee to get them scrapped…"

Jon looked at the pile of boxes and his eyes lit up. "Hey, could I have them?"

Goldie looked confused. "Um, I guess so. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. Thanks though! I'll be back with Mac later to pick them up." As he walked towards the door, he paused. "Mac owes me a favor," he explained before stepping out, Goldie waving as he went.

…

As soon as the door was shut behind him, Jon took off running. Mac's house was on the entire opposite side of the town from Goldie's, and while it was mid-afternoon and this meant he was probably wandering around, he never wandered too far from home unless it was for a game of hide-and-seek or celebration of some sort.

Sure enough, as Jon rounded the corner along the river, Mac was standing just in front of his house looking out over the cliff at the ocean while stretching. Stopping momentarily to catch his breath, Jon walked towards the bulldog and started to call his name, when suddenly a cream monkey stepped in front of him, nearly causing him to bump into her.

"Jon! Thank goodness you're here!" the monkey said cheerfully.

"Hi Elise," Jon sighed, peering over her shoulder to make sure Mac didn't wander out of sight.

"I have a very important question for you, yodelay," Elise explained, adjusting her glasses.

"Can it wait? I have to talk to M-"

"Which shirt do you prefer, yodelay? My gumdrop tee, or this blue flannel shirt?" She held the shirt in question in front of her gumdrop tee and posed.

"Uh… The gumdrop tee." Jon looked and saw Mac wandering off.

"That's what I thought you would say, yodelay. Personally, I prefer the colors of the gumdrop tee, but Ms. Nintendique says that the woodcutter look is in these days, so I thought-"

"That's great, Elise," Jon said nervously. "But I really do have to go talk to Mac."

"Oh! Sorry for holding you up!" Elise apologized, as if this was the first time she had heard such a thing. "Talk to you later?"

"Sure," Jon sighed before running after Mac.

…

After a few minutes of searching for Mac, Jon finally found him… talking to Saharah. He paused to take his breath and watch as they conversed.

"I have wallpapers for papering walls, and carpets for petting cars. Do you want cars petted?" the camel asked.

"Uh, yeah! Of course, yodelay!" Mac grinned.

"For 3,000 bells, deal?"

Mac dug through his pockets, then grimaced. "I don't think I have enough, yodelay…" Seeing Jon behind him, though, his eyes lit up. "Hey Jon! You think you can cover this for me?"

"I guess I can get what you can't," Jon said, forcing a smile.

"Great!" Mac turned back to Saharah. "Jon's paying for this, yodelay."

"Wait, I didn't mean I'd get it a-"

"For 3,000 bells, deal?" Saharah repeated, this time to Jon. Jon sighed and pulled the money out, handing it to Saharah. "Then let us go to your house. Swiftly!"

"Right-o, yodelay! Come on Jon, I want you to see the finished project too!" Jon nodded reluctantly and followed Mac and Saharah back to Mac's house.

…

As Mac and Jon waited for Saharah to finish redecorating - a process which Jon believed was taking far too long and was far too loud - they were approached by Bruce.

"Hey Jon! This is gonna sound weird, but…" he said as he got closer.

"…But what?" Jon asked, not sure what to expect.

"Just shut up and take my garbage can!" Bruce suddenly barked, handing said object to Jon.

"Uh… okay…" Jon responded, taking it. Bruce laughed.

"I was watching a fortune-teller show on TV and it said that something good will happen to me if I give something to the first person I thought of, and I thought of you. Now I'm gonna go wait for something good to happen to me." He started to walk away, but stopped. "What are you doing outside of Mac's house? Are you two planning something, pudgy?"

"No, Saharah's in there, so we're waiting to see what she comes up with," Jon explained.

"You really hired her, pudgy?" Bruce looked shocked. "You know, I hear her accent is fake. She performed in the city Marquee before it got shut down and she didn't have it." Before Jon or Mac could respond, Saharah barged out of the house.

"You house is done! Go look," she told Mac, who signaled for Jon and Bruce to follow him in. His ivy wall and sandlot had been replaced with a chainlink fence wall and autumn floor.

"Hmm…" Mac said thoughtfully, looking at his new wall up close. "You know what, I preferred my old wall and floor. Oh well!" With that, he tore the new wallpaper down and pulled up the carpet, handing it to Jon. "You can keep it."

"…Thanks…" Jon remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I guess I'll be taking my leave now, pudgy," Bruce remarked, sensing that Jon was irritated. He waved goodbye to an oblivious Mac before leaving.

Before following Bruce out, Jon suddenly remembered why he had run into Mac in the first place. "Hey Mac, can I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure, what's up, yodelay?" Mac responded cheerfully.

"I need to pick up some stuff from Goldie's but I can't lift it all. Could you help?"

"Sure! Anything for you, bro!"

"Great, thanks. Goldie's waiting for us, so let's-"

"But first I need to put my old wallpaper and carpet back," Mac interrupted, ignoring Jon. "Hey, can you help?"

Jon sighed.

… **This isn't turning out as good as I hoped… Ah well, I'll publish it anyway. (And yes, I really did name my New Leaf town "Village". Don't judge me.)**

 **Uhhhh yeah. Read and review por favor y gracias.**


	2. Festivale!

**I'm back already! There's a shock. (Tbh I really just wanted to get the chance to write Pavé before Festivale was over. Happy Festivale, btw!)**

 **Still don't own Animal Crossing. My non-fanfiction has yet to be written.**

With Mac's old wallpaper and carpet put back down, Jon and Mac made their way back across town to Goldie's house - stopping only momentarily to help Elise pick a new catchphrase - to pick up the cardboard boxes. As Mac precariously stacked them in his arms, Goldie tapped Jon on the shoulder.

"Why do you want these? I mean, not that's it any of my business, but… I'm curious," the beagle asked.

"Oh, no problem!" Jon assured her. "Someone showed up at Nook's Homes this morning wanting a house with furniture made out of cardboard, but I didn't have the supplies for it. I figured I could use your boxes to make furniture for him!"

"Oh! You work for Nook's Homes?" Goldie questioned, followed by a nod from Jon as a response. "I've considered getting a job there before. I don't know, though…"

Jon's eyes lit up. "You should! It'd be really cool, and Pudge works there too!"

"Really? Hm, well, if you think I should, then…" Goldie's eye twinkled. "I will! Let's go right away!"

"Well, maybe we should help Mac load the boxes into the car first," Jon suggested with a small chuckle.

"Right. Good plan."

…

As Jon, Goldie, and Mac climbed out Jon's company vehicle, Jon immediately saw Nate, and ran up to him.

"Nate! I'm so glad I found you," he said, catching the bear's attention. "I managed to get the supplies I need for your house, so I can build it now!"

"That's the best news ever!" Nate cheered. "We should celebrate by eating some celebratory snacks, yawwwn."

As Nate made his way into Nook's Homes, Jon turned to Mac and Goldie. "Goldie, once Lottie finishes helping me and Nate find a good location for his new house, you can talk to her about getting a job, okay?" Goldie nodded and Jon followed the lazy bear.

"I think I'm gonna go check out the café," Mac said thoughtfully. "I've heard good things." He waved to Goldie before walking off. Goldie took a deep breath and walked into Nook's Homes.

…

"Jon, head over to the site with Nate," Lottie was telling Jon, as they had finished up all the required planning. "Go get 'em, tiger!" Nate clapped as Jon gave a thumbs up, and the two were swiftly out of the building, Jon giving a friendly pat on Goldie's shoulder as he went.

"Hello! Can I help you?" Lottie asked Goldie as she made her way back to her desk.

"Um, yes, are you Lottie?" the beagle asked.

"That's me, tiger!" Lottie responded with a playful wink.

"Well, my friend Jon suggested that I apply for a job here."

"Oh! That's great!" Lottie immediately flung open a drawer in her desk and pulled out an application form. "Just fill out this form. It'll ask you what job you want. Designers are like Jon and actually put together the houses, representatives contact towns to help set up businesses, technicians design new furniture and assist designers with tips, and models help with advertising campaigns and to make a new resident feel comfortable in their new home."

After making it to this point in the form, Goldie considered her options. She immediately ruled out designer, as she felt she'd never live up to Jon's standards, and technician, since she wasn't very good at designing furniture, which left representatives and models the only options, as she felt either of these jobs would showcase her people skills well. While she considered, Pudge sauntered down the stairs behind her.

"Oh! Hi Goldie!" Pudge greeted, distracting the pup from her paperwork. "What's up, pudgy?"

"Oh, well, Jon wanted me to apply here, so I'm trying to decide which job I want," Goldie explained. "I already know I don't want to be a designer or a technician, so it's either representative or model."

"You should be a model!" Pudge shouted, catching Goldie off-guard. "It's so much fun, pudgy!"

"You're a model?" Goldie asked. She never thought she would say those words to someone like Pudge.

"Uh, duh! All you have to do is walk around and talk a lot until Jon tells you he got the picture!"

Goldie considered this. It _would_ give her the chance to work alongside Jon and Pudge, who she already knew quite well, instead of only working with strangers. "Alright, I'll do it!" She marked the box next to the word model on her form and handed it back to Lottie.

"Great, tiger! I'll get this to Mr. Nook," Lottie grinned as she started to leave. "Jon should be back from working with Nate in a few minutes, and he'll probably want to take some pictures then. So you two just stick around!" Goldie and Pudge nodded as the otter made her way out the door.

…

After a long day in the city and nearby towns, Jon, Goldie, and Mac piled back into Jon's car - which had more space in it for them now that the boxes were gone - and made their way back to Village, with Pudge close behind.

"That was a lot of fun!" Goldie remarked. Jon chuckled as he focused on the road. "Oh, don't forget that Festivale is tomorrow. Have you picked out your outfit yet, woof?"

Jon took one hand off the wheel for a second to smack his forehead. "Augh, I completely forgot! I've been so busy making houses the days seem to just fly by."

"I've already gotten mine, pudgy!" Mac said. "I look pretty good in it, if I do say so myself."

"I think the Able Sisters still have a few left, woof," Goldie said thoughtfully. "You should drop by before they all sell out."

"Good idea," Jon agreed.

…

The next morning, Jon walked out of the Able Sisters wearing a rather small Festivale tank, too-long Festivale pants, and a hot pink Festivale accessory. "I look so stupid," he grumbled.

"Aw, you look fine!" Mabel encouraged, trying to stifle a laugh. Labelle was less subtle, though she remained inside to finish her laughing fit.

"Yeah, whatever," Jon rolled his eyes before walking off.

…

Hearing footsteps coming up from behind her, Paula turned her head slightly, catching Jon in her peripheral vision crossing the tracks.

"Jon! Great! You found a-" Before she could finish, she saw the entirety of Jon's outfit and broke down laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Jon crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.

"Nice to see you getting into the spirit of things, you idiot," Paula said as she recovered. Jon couldn't help but smile at her catchphrase, which, despite how it sounded, was not an insult, and more of an endearing pet name. In fact, Jon had come up with it with the help of the other villagers.

"So what exactly do you do during Festivale anyway?" Jon asked, having only moved to Village (and immediately become mayor) a couple of months prior. Where he came from, he would be celebrating Mardi Gras.

"Easy," Paula explained. "Feathers fall from the sky and you catch them with your net. Pavé will ask for a certain color, and if you bring them to him, he'll give you rare furniture. You can also trade your feathers with other people, or bet them in games of charades, rock-paper-scissors, or 'Made Ya Look'."

"…Alright… So I go talk to Pavé first?" Jon asked.

"That's it, you idiot." Jon gave her a thumbs up before heading off towards the plaza. At this point he had become accustomed to all of his destinations being halfway across the town from his current location, but still smiled at the strangely repetitive coincidence.

…

"White feather… White feather…" Having received the assigned color from Pavé, Jon made his way through the town, carrying a net, and began searching for a white feather.

"What's up, oh PLEASE?" a voice suddenly came from behind him, startling him into dropping his net. Jon turned around to see, as expected, Elise. Who, also as expected, burst out laughing. "Oh PLEASE, Jon, is that you? I thought it was Bruce trying to be 'hip' again." She laughed a little more, before adding, "That tank top is tight on you in all the wrong places."

"Yeah, I know, I look stupid. What did you want, Elise?"

"Just to know what you were doing."

"Looking for a white feather for Pavé." Jon picked his net back up and started to walk away.

"Oh PLEASE! I have a white feather!"

"What?!" Jon whirled back around. "Seriously? Can I have it?"

"Sure!" Jon pumped his fist into the air. "If you beat me at rock, paper, scissors." Jon groaned.

"Alright, fine."

"Ready? We're going all or nothing, so you better bring you're a-game. Here we go…"

They held out their hands and chanted in sync, "Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!" Jon held out rock while Elise held out scissors, and the winner was determined.

"Whoa, you're good at this," Elise remarked. "You won! Oh PLEASE, that wasn't supposed to happen… Good game. Take your white feather… You won fair and square."

Jon nodded, amused somewhat at Elise's poor sportsmanship, and took the white feather from her hands before heading back to the plaza to give it to Pavé. "It was only a feather… but I loved it so!" Elise said overdramatically as he left.

…

As he made his way back to the plaza, Jon located another white feather and decided to catch it as well before approaching the strangely-dressed and even more strangely-dancing peacock with the two feathers in his hand. As Pavé saw Jon approach, he said, "Do you have feathers for Pavé?" Before Jon spoke, Pavé interrupted, "Pavé see it! You have white feathers!" Jon started to hand them to the peacock, but his hand was smacked away. "But Pavé is high maintenance. Pavéonly gives reward for three of those. Either Pavé forgot to mention, or little Mr. No-Dance wasn't listening."

"I'm pretty sure you f-"

Pavé glared at the human. "Pavé never forget."

A little creeped out by the strange peacock, Jon wandered off to find a third white feather.

…

"How goes it, you idiot?" Paula asked as Jon walked past, tightly gripping the net with an irritated determination across his face.

" _Terribly_ ," Jon responded, growling as he whirled towards Paula, who stumbled back in surprise. "The _stupid_ peacock won't give me the _stupid_ furniture until I bring him three _stupid_ feathers, and I can't find them _ANYWHERE._ "

"Okay, okay, calm down, you idiot!" Paula urged. Jon took a deep breath.

"Please tell me you have some white feathers…" Jon whined pleadingly.

"Sorry, you idiot, I'm all out," the bear responded with a shrug. Her eyes lit up, though, and she pointed behind Jon. Raising an eyebrow, the boy turned around and saw Cranston asleep standing up.

"Okay? Cranston's asleep. This happens all the time." Paula rolled her eyes at her younger friend's ignorance.

"What is Cranston, Jon?"

"Asleep," Jon responded, looking at her, confused.

"No, like, what _is_ he?"

"…Our friend?"

Paula groaned. "Oh my gosh, are you kidding me? He's a _white ostrich_. With feathers. _WHITE_ feathers." Jon blinked a couple of times, processing her statement.

"Oh… OHH!" Jon's eyes lit up.

"About time, you idiot," Paula rolled her eyes. Jon wasn't sure if she was quoting her catchphrase, or actually calling him an idiot. "Go pluck one before he wakes up." Jon nodded and slowly snuck over to Cranston, yanking a feather out of his tail. Cranston shifted a little, but didn't wake up, so Jon ran back -to the plaza as Paula watched and gave him a thumbs up.

…

Elise's eyes lit up as she watched Jon run past. "Hey Jon, will you trade your white feather for my-"

"NO!" Jon barked, not even turning his head. Elise crossed her arms. "Oh PLEASE, you didn't have to be so rude."

…

A few more groups of feathers later, Jon's Ice Drawer and Closet were now filled to the brim with Pavé furniture (mostly carpets - apparently the peacock had a surplus). He was about tired of running around catching and trading feathers, so he decided to take the Pavé furniture (which he didn't want to use to replace his beloved Ice Furniture) and leftover feathers to Re-Tail.

After all of the furniture and feathers were gone, Jon pulled the increasingly uncomfortable Festivale tank over his head and slipped his familiar gray tartan shirt back on, then replacing the Festivale pants with his chino pants, and the Festivale accessory with his plain black cap. Back to his normal attire, he sighed deeply and smiled into his ice vanity before heading back off to Re-Tail to sell the Festivale clothing. By the end of his selling spree, he had made nearly 200,000 bells, and immediately donated it to the museum renovation fund and finishing that up.

Walking out of the train station, Jon was stopped by Paula. "Aw, are you already done dancing, you idiot?" she asked.

"Yeah, kinda tired of running around for a peacock that's too busy dancing to catch his own feathers," Jon replied with a shrug. "Besides, I finished the fund for the museum renovation!"

"Nice, you idiot!"

"And I still got a ton of money, too." Suddenly, Jon's eyes lit up. "Hey, you think anyone would be interested in stopping by a new café in a nearby town?"

Paula looked confused. "I guess so."

"Great! I'll buy. You invite everyone on this side of the river, I'll invite everyone else."

"Sweet! On it!" Paula removed her accessory and ran off towards Mac's house.

Jon grinned as he ran in the opposite direction. This would be a lot of fun.

 **Whoaaaa long chapter. I don't know HOW this happened.**

 **Don't expect it to happen again.**

 **Yeah, so… I have nothing else to say. Read & review por favor y gracias.**


	3. Fishing for Love

**Yeah, well, this was supposed to be two chapters but I ran out of time before the fishing contest and Valentine's Day, so it's going to be long again.**

 **Of course, I also lost one plot, because Cranston told me today that he didn't want to move even though he said Tuesday he planned on leaving Saturday… So there goes my emotional "goodbye Cranston" plot. …And my chances of getting Cookie to move in…**

 **Uh yeah, that's about it. Let's get going.**

Jon yawned as he pushed his blankets off of him. As usual, the 10:21 train had woken him up. It was like his own personal alarm clock.

His first thought was that he should head to Nook's Homes before he ended up being late, but then remembered that Nook had given all of his employees that day off. It seemed like a nice gesture, but everyone knew it was only because they would be forced to work on Valentine's Day.

Jon headed over to his ice vanity to get his plain black cap and placed it on his head before walking out. To his surprise, a star-shaped crack was right outside his front door. Pulling out his silver shovel, he quickly dug at the crack and found, as expected, a fossil.

"Nice," he mumbled to himself with a grin. Covering the hole back up, he made his way to the tracks to go to main street. To his surprise, the 10:21 train was just passing - this meant it had actually stopped at the town. He decided to wait to see who came out of the station before heading to the museum. To his surprise, it was Lottie!

"Oh, hi tiger! You were easy to find," Lottie remarked as she walked over to him.

"Hey, Lottie! What are you doing in Village?" Jon asked.

"Well, I realized that you, Goldie, Pudge, and Mr. Nook are live here, but I've never visited! So since today is our day off, I thought now would be a good time to."

"Oh! Well, I guess this is your official welcome then. I'm going to the museum to get this fossil assessed, but… You could go visit with Goldie. She lives right over there." Jon pointed at Goldie's house, which was in view.

"Okay, tiger! See you in a bit!" Lottie waved as Jon headed across the tracks, then turned and walked towards Goldie's house. By the smoke coming out of the chimney, she could see the beagle was home, so she knocked and headed on in.

…

"Oh, hi Lottie! I was just about to write a poem about a pocket knife," Goldie remarked, putting down her pen. Lottie pondered the strange statement for a second before shrugging it off. "What are you doing here, woof?"

"I figured I could visit Village and see where you guys live since it's our day off."

"Oh! Do you want me to show you around?"

"That'd be great!"

…

"And this is the event plaza," Goldie said as Lottie followed her.

"What's the tent?" Lottie asked. Goldie looked over to see a purple, green, and gold tent that she had not noticed before.

"I'm not sure," Goldie replied. "It doesn't look like Redd's tent, and the fishing tourney isn't until tomorrow…"

"Well, let's go look!" Lottie suggested before walking towards it. Goldie reluctantly followed.

…

As the girls entered the tent, Goldie cowered behind the braver sea lion. The tent was dark, with mysterious artifacts scattered throughout. Behind a table sat a black panther, whose eyes were closed. "Keeee-heh-ha-mo-atata… Keeee-heh-ha-mo-atatata…" the panther chanted. "Welcome to my tent of fortunes!" Only after saying this did she open her eyes. "I, Katrina, will use my tarot cards to reveal your future for a mere 500 bells…"

Goldie shuddered. "I-I don't know, woof…"

Lottie was more willing. "Sure!" She pulled the money out of her pockets and handed it to Katrina. Goldie stepped back.

"I'm not so sure about this…"

"Now, focus on the tarot cards. Speak to them with your mind. Tell them your hopes and dreams… Keeee-heh-ha-mo-atata… Keeee-heh-mo-atatata… Eee na ro sheho-to bati… YEEEEEeeeee! Ahem! Now, touch your card of destiny…" A little weirded out but still not losing her grin, Lottie looked down at the cards. Five were spread across the table, though Goldie could've sworn they weren't there before. Examining them momentarily, Lottie tapped one. Katrina lifted the card off the table and examined it. "Ah, yes…" She turned it to Lottie, revealing a silhouetted pair of animals hugging.

"Bells cannot buy love, but the power of love can help you achieve great wealth… Your fortune in love will soon be on the rise! That is how I interpret the Lovebirds card. You will soon see true love bloom…"

As Lottie and Goldie watched, the cards faded away. Goldie whimpered nervously. "May plenty of good fortune come your way… And remember that bad times… are just times that are bad." With this, Katrina closed her eyes once again. Lottie and Goldie took this as their cue to leave, and did so.

…

"I am never going back in there again, woof," Goldie remarked, still shuddering. Lottie turned to her, grinning ear-to-ear.

"Are you kidding? That place is the best ever!" Lottie cheered with a small giggle. Goldie raised an eyebrow.

"Is this about her prediction?" Goldie asked.

"Of course! She has to be talking about Valentine's Day - and _me and Digby_!" Goldie looked unconvinced. "This Valentine's Day is the day he'll finally notice me, and our true love will bloom!" Seeing Lottie so cheerful, Goldie didn't have the heart to point out the flaws with this theory, despite her doubts.

…

"Thanks for stopping by, Lottie," Jon said as he, Goldie, and Pudge escorted the otter back to the train station.

"You sure you don't wanna stay, pudgy?" Pudge offered. "The fishing tourney is tomorrow!"

"I have to work tomorrow, tiger," Lottie replied with a giggle.

"Oh, right…" Pudge sighed.

"I'll come in after I'm done fishing," Jon told her.

"Sounds good. I'll see you then!" She waved goodbye to her friends before stepping into the station to board the train back to the city.

"We should get to bed, woof," Goldie remarked. "We want to be well-rested for the fishing tourney, right?"

"Right," Jon and Pudge agreed.

…

Seeing a small shadow a short distance from the surface of the water, Elise cast her rod. Seconds later, she was holding a carp.

"Not bad, Elise," Paula remarked from behind her.

"Thanks, oh PLEASE!" Elise grinned, holding up her catch proudly. "To catch a fish, you have to _think_ like a fish. But if you start smelling like a fish, then you've gone too far."

Paula squinted and nodded. "Interesting logic. How long is it?"

"I'd say about twenty-five inches," Elise replied. As the girls were talking, Nan walked past them, holding a pond smelt.

"Nan, you know you're supposed to catch a _big_ fish, right?" Paula asked the goat.

"Oh, don't worry about me, my love," Nan replied. "Nice carp, Elise." Without any further information, Nan continued walking to the plaza, where Chip waited to score their fish.

"I'm not sure whether to feel bad for her, or to be worried, oh PLEASE," Elise remarked.

"With Nan? Definitely be worried," Paula replied.

…

Paula stood on the sand, watching carefully as the fish circled her hook, waiting for it to bite so that she could pull it up. However, her focus was suddenly broken when Jon ran up behind her.

"Hey Paula!" he shouted, causing the bear to jump and yank the hook out of the water, scaring the fish away. Paula sighed, defeated.

"What is it, yo-" She turned around to see Jon's eye completely covered by a swollen bee sting. "Dude! Jon?! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded.

"Looks like a bee stung you! It got you good! What were you doing?"

"Looking for money…" Jon explained, embarrassed. "I tried to catch it with my net, but I missed."

Paula rolled her eyes. "Here. Use this!" She pulled a bag of medicine out of her pockets, handing it to Jon. "Get that down you, and fix that ugly mug of yours quick! You idiot!"

Jon laughed and wandered off, opening the bag. Paula chuckled before turning back to the ocean. Noting that there were no more fish nearby, she slung her rod over her shoulder and began searching for a better fishing spot.

"Hey Paula, do you know what the current fish record is?" Nan asked as Paula walked past her.

"Uh, I think it's Tex's 43-inch sea bass, you idiot," Paula responded.

"Hm… Okay," Nan said before walking off, Paula watching.

"What is she up to…?" Paula asked anxiously before heading off to find another fish.

…

Paula carried her sea bass, four inches longer than Tex's, to the plaza, hoping to get a nice piece of furniture to either add to her house or sell. However, upon arriving at the plaza, she saw Nan coming from the other direction carrying an oarfish. Paula stopped in her tracks, awestruck.

"Oh, hi Paula!" Nan greeted cheerfully. "Do you want to submit your bass first? I don't want to keep you from getting any furniture…"

Paula was too amazed to speak.

"Hello? My love?" Nan waved her free hand in front of Paula's face.

Finally, the bear snapped out of it. "Um, what? Oh! Right. Yeah, thanks." She shook her head before walking over to Chip and handing him the bass.

…

"Good job today everyone! The awards ceremony is about to start." Nan, Paula, and Tex held trophies as the other villagers crowded into the tent. Once everyone was there, Chip cleared his throat and began, "In third place… with a cool-looking sea bass measuring 43.21 inches… It's Tex!" Everyone clapped as Tex stood and waved. "Congratulations!"

"Next up, in second place… with another sea bass measuing 49.34 inches… It's Paula!" Paula struck a pose and soaked in the applause. "Good work! And you can aim for first place next time!" Paula nodded. "I plan to."

"And now, in first place… with an oarfish measuring a whopping 231.19 inches… It's Nan!" Nan blushed as everyone cheered for her. "Congratulations on the win! Very impressive!"

"So there you have it, everyone. Congratulations! Let's give 'em one final round of applause."

…

"You caught an _oarfish_?!" Elise asked Nan after the ceremony as she was walking out of the tent.

Nan nodded. "Yesterday, actually, and I caught three. I donated one to the museum, and submitted the biggest one in the tourney, and gave one to Jon to keep as a pet."

"You caught _three oarfish_?" Paula asked.

"In a row. I'm not sure how it happened," Nan replied with a shrug. At this point the girls were walking across the bridge to the in-progress Village Park, when suddenly they heard footsteps behind them. Paula turned around.

"AH! A monster!" she shouted, and the other two whirled around. The figure in question skidded to a halt and glared at her. "Oh… wait, is that you, Jon?" Jon nodded. "Wow, you look pretty messed up… Did you seriously get stung again?"

"Yeah…" Jon admitted sheepishly.

"That net you've got didn't do you any good, huh? Well, whatever! Here. Have some soothing medicine!" Paula handed him a bag, identical to the one before.

"Thanks Paula," Jon remarked as he pulled the medicine out and drank it. Almost immediately the swelling went down. "Where do you keep all this medicine, anyway?"

Paula shrugged. "It's a secret. Anyway, hope you learned your lesson. 'Bee' more careful in the future! Ha ha, you idiot!"

Jon rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to laugh with her. "What are you girls up to?"

"Oh, well, the fishing tourney ceremony just ended, and we were talking about Nan's oarfish," Elise explained.

"Aw, did I miss the ceremony?" Jon asked. "Sorry Nan, I really wanted to see you win."

"It's okay, my love," Nan assured the human.

"Well, I have to get to Nook's Homes before Lottie starts worrying about me," Jon remarked. "See you guys tonight?"

"Sure!" Paula agreed. Jon nodded and ran off.

…

"Hey Benjamin!" Jon greeted as he walked into the dog in question's backyard.

"Oh, hi Jon!" Benjamin greeted. "What's up?"

"Well, your house was chosen to be a featured home for our location on the Happy Home Network. So I was wondering if I could get some professional photos taken."

Benjamin looked confused, but nodded.

"Great!" Jon headed back to the car and said something into the window, which Benjamin couldn't hear, followed by Goldie, Hopper, Gladys, and Chief climbing out of it and following him back to the yard.

"I'll try to make this as quick and simple as possible so that you can get back to your house, okay?" Jon said. Benjamin shrugged. "Whatever you have to do."

Jon nodded, then pulled a box out of his trunk. "Could you put this shirt and hat on?"

…

After they had all changed, Jon looked at the scene through his Happy Home Camera. "Okay, let's see… Chief and Goldie, I want you to sit on the right log; Gladys and Hopper on the back, and Benjamin and I will sit across from Gladys and Hopper." The animals nodded and shuffled to their locations. Jon sat next to the very flustered Benjamin and looked through the camera again. "No, that's not right… Okay, hold on." He stood up and shifted to the log across from Chief and Goldie.

"All good, boss?" Chief asked. Jon shook his head. "No, it looks lopsided." Hopper and Gladys sighed. Jon was an excellent designer, but very picky. "Um… Goldie, could you sit next to Benjamin instead?" Goldie immediately complied, not noticing as Benjamin blushed furiously. "That's a little better. But boring. It needs to look like a scene…" His eye was suddenly drawn to the bottom of the picture, where Gladys was sound asleep. "That'll do." Satisfied, he pressed a button on his watch, which caused the Happy Home Camera above them to snap the picture.

The picture taken, Chief made his way over to where the camera was set up to tear it down while Jon, Hopper, and the still half-asleep Gladys made their way back to the temporary dressing room Jon had set up to change. Goldie walked over to Benjamin. "Thanks! We'll be out of your hair now, woof."

"Oh, it's fine," Benjamin insisted. "So… what exactly is your job, alrighty?"

"Oh, I'm a model - well, a Nook's Homes model," Goldie explained. "I just pose for pictures and help new customers feel comfortable in their new homes."

"Well, you're very good at it, alrighty," Benjamin said.

"Aw, thanks! This is only my second time doing it, though, so I hope I'll improve, woof!"

"Maybe I could be a model too, alrighty?"

"That would be great! You should talk to Lottie!"

"…Maybe I will. I'll have to think about it."

"Well, I hope you will!" Goldie said.

"Ready to go, Goldie?" Jon asked as he, Hopper, Gladys, and Chief loaded into the car.

"Um, just a sec!" Goldie said. She started to say something to Benjamin, but instead just waved and ran off to change.

…

The next day - Valentine's Day, to be specific - Jon arrived early and was filing paperwork when Lottie walked in.

"Oh, hi Jon!" the otter greeted cheerfully. Jon looked up and saw her dressed much more stylishly, with a Gracie hat instead of her bow, a pair of Gracie pumps, and a butterfly dress under her uniform. She was also wearing a significant amount of make-up - more than usual.

"Wow," Jon remarked. "Someone's shopped at GracieGrace recently." Lottie rolled her eyes. "Isn't that a little… _much_ for work?"

"Oh, please, Jon," Lottie responded, a false British accent gracing her voice. "I always dress nicely whenever I can."

"Uh huh… What's with the goofy accent?"

"…Is it that goofy?" Lottie asked in her normal voice, lifting the brim of her hat out of her face. Jon nodded. She sighed and took the hat off, revealing her bow underneath it. "I'm sorry, I'm just hoping to impress Digby today."

"Oh, because it's Valentine's Day?"

"Not only that. Katrina told me that I would see true love bloom, so I think this is what she's referring to."

"Okay…?" Jon considered this for a moment. "Besides the absurdity of that statement, don't you think that if Katrina had predicted it you wouldn't have to meddle to get it to happen?"

"Well, I want to make sure it happens no matter what," Lottie replied. "And by that logic, I can't make it worse, right tiger?"

"I guess that's true."

"Either way, I'm going to-" Before Lottie could finish, the bell rang, signifying that someone had entered the building.

"Yo," said a sheep as she walked into Nook's Homes, catching the attention of Jon and Lottie. "This is Nook's Homes, right?" Jon nodded. "See… I need a new house, and you dudes know how to do that stuff. Can you take care of that for me?"

"Well, what kind of house do you need?" Jon asked, standing up.

"I want to live in a fast food restaurant, y'know?" the sheep replied. Jon pictured this in his head.

"Well, I don't-" Before he could finish, Lottie grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back to her desk.

"You _have_ to accept this job," Lottie told him.

"Okay," Jon said, a little nervous and confused. "Um, why?"

" _Because_ , if you do, Digby and I can go there on our _first date_."

"…You want to go on your first date at a fast food restaurant?"

"I take what I get."

"Okay, but why couldn't you go to Marshal's house, or Violet's, or even Jacques'? Wouldn't that be more, y'know, romantic?"

"Maybe. But I can tell him that we're just going to help you as models because Goldie and Pudge are busy, and then when we get there he'll realize his true feelings for me, and it'll be perfect!"

Jon stared at Lottie, who was now daydreaming. "Wow. Okay." He stood up and walked back to the sheep, who looked quite impatient.

"So will ya do it?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Sweet, dude! That's, like, the best news I've heard all day! I'm Frita by the way."

"Well, Frita," Lottie said, having snapped out of her fantasy, "let's talk a bit about your planning requirements!"

…

"Romantic fast food restaurant…" Jon mumbled on the car ride to the location. No matter how hard he pictured it, he couldn't figure out what he was going to do to satisfy Lottie and Frita's requests. Finally, they arrived.

"So this is how it all starts," Frita remarked. "This is where the magic begins, yo." Jon looked at the exterior he had chosen - a yellow country house with a red roof and white door. Satisfied, he got to work on designing the rest of the yard. The supplies given to him by Frita were of little use, so he dug through his own catalog.

A few minutes later he had arranged a cozy outdoor seating area perfect for a fast food restaurant - but horrible for a romantic dinner. Unable to decide how he could change it to improve, he decided to work on the interior and return to the exterior later.

…

The interior didn't work much better - although the tables were fancier, having to work with fast food meals was hindering him severely.

"What's wrong, oh, ewe?" Frita asked as Jon stared at the room.

"Um, nothing," Jon replied. Suddenly he realized something. "…I'm just gonna call in a specialist."

…

"A romantic fast food restaurant? You're kidding, right, silly?" the cat asked Jon. Jon shook his head.

"I don't know how to do it," Jon explained. The cat took a deep breath.

"Well, then I guess it's Rosie time."

Jon and Frita followed Rosie as she took a look at the exterior of the house. "Hm…" she remarked. Jon looked at her, confused, but she didn't acknowledge it.

"I think I have an idea…" Rosie remarked. She turned to Frita. "What do you think of this? A double restaurant - on the inside, the fast food restaurant of your dreams. French fries, burgers, and slow customer service to your heart's content. But on the outside, the perfect romantic diner - nothing but the moon and candlelight shining on your loved one's face as you enjoy a delicious dinner together."

Frita considered this. "Sounds cool, I guess. Let me see it in action." Rosie turned to Jon.

"Think you can handle that?" she asked. Jon nodded.

"Thanks, Rosie."

"Anytime, silly."

…

Within a few hours, the house was complete, and Frita was satisfied with it - so satisfied, in fact, that she suggested to Jon that he get a job in home design. Jon and Rosie just assumed (or rather,hoped) that she was joking.

"You think Lottie will approve?" Jon asked Rosie on their way back to Nook's Homes.

"Here's hoping, silly."

…

"Oh, Digby, thank goodness you're here!" Jon said as he and Rosie walked into Nook's Homes. Digby looked up from his clipboard.

"What's up?"

"Well, I need to take pictures of the house I just finished, but Goldie and Pudge can't be here! I need you and Lottie to fill in."

Digby shrugged. "Sure, why not?" He put the clipboard down and Jon shot a glance at Lottie, who was smiling.

…

"Alright, Rosie, Chief, and I will sit over here at the big table," Jon said as he adjusted the HHC. "Lottie and Digby, you guys sit over there at one of the small tables. Hopper and Gladys, just… do whatever you want." Hopper and Gladys looked confused, but wandered off. Frita was in her uniform, and everyone else was dressed up.

"You sure you don't wanna get a pic of the inside, dude?" Frita asked.

"Positive!" Lottie yelled back at her before Jon could respond. Frita looked at her, confused, but decided against asking.

…

"Don't you think Jon did a really nice job on this place?" Lottie asked Digby as Jon worked with Gladys, Hopper, Rosie, Chief, and Frita - or, rather, bought time for the otter.

"Yeah, it's pretty neat," Digby responded. The table fell back into awkward silence.

"You look nice," Lottie remarked, almost immediately regretting it. Jon had had Digby put on a tuxedo, which, in Lottie's opinion, he looked so good in she had to wonder if Jon was trying to help her, or torture her.

"Thank you! You look nice too." Lottie, on the other hand, had barely changed her outfit at all besides ditching the Nook's Homes uniform. After all, she was already dressed up. "Gracie's clothing really suits you."

Lottie was predictably flustered, but managed to stutter out a, "Thank you," before the table fell back into silence.

"Happy Valentine's Day, by the way," Digby remarked a few moments later.

"Well, so far it's been okay," Lottie mumbled. Despite her best efforts, Digby overheard her.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing!" Lottie immediately began backpedaling. "It's just that, ah, I was hoping, that is…" She shook her head, trying to get her mind back on track. "I'm waiting on, erm… something."

"I see," Digby said, although truthfully he couldn't be more confused. Lottie noticed Jon glancing at her, trying to tell her he was running out of excuses to buy time, and Lottie shrugged. "What are you shrugging about?"

"Huh? Oh! Uh…" Lottie tried to come up with an excuse. "Rosie was mouthing about how long Jon was taking…?"

"He is taking awhile. Usually he's more prepared than this. Weird."

"Yeah. Weird," Lottie chuckled nervously. Finally, Jon walked over.

"Okay, so you guys are sitting at one of the 'romantic' tables." Lottie felt like slamming her face onto the 'romantic' table. Could Jon be any more obvious? "So I need you to look… I don't know, couple-y."

"Like this?" Digby asked, taking Lottie's hands in his own. Lottie's face turned even pinker than usual. Jon looked at her, and she nodded.

"Perfect." He walked off to get the others positioned.

"This is kind of awkward, don't you think?" Digby said, chuckling nervously.

Lottie narrowed her eyes nervously. "What makes you say that?"

"Y'know, having to act like a couple." Lottie didn't react. "Never mind. Forget I said anything." Lottie nodded half-heartedly. They avoided eye contact for a couple moments.

"Well, at least we know each other. It's not like we're complete stangers," Lottie pointed out.

"I think that makes it worse, y'know?" Digby shrugged. "We know each other so well, it's almost like you're my other sister. It's weird to act like we're a couple."

Lottie's heart plummeted, but she tried to keep a straight face. "…Right."

After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Digby's phone rang. He released Lottie's hands to answer, and after talking for a moment, hung up and walked over to Jon.

"Sorry, Jon, I gotta go. Isabelle's locked out of our house and doesn't know where her key is, so I have to let her in."

"Oh," Jon said, looking at Lottie. She nodded sadly. "I guess we can do it without you, then."

"Okay, great. Sorry again." With that, Digby ran out of the yard.

…

After the picture was taken, Jon and Rosie walked over to Lottie.

"You okay?" Rosie asked quietly, sitting across from the otter.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine," Lottie responded, shaking her head. "I mean, I expected this. It's Digby, right? Like he'd ever be anything but oblivious." She looked up. "Besides, I still have Katrina's prediction. Maybe she wasn't talking about today, or maybe she wasn't talking about Digby. Maybe it was-" Before she could finish, something caught her eye. Rosie and Jon turned to see Gladys and Hopper together, Gladys kissing him on the cheek before they walked off, wing-in-wing.

Rosie spoke up first. "Did they just-"

"Yup," Lottie responded before she finished.

"And you just-"

"Uh huh," Lottie interrupted the cat again.

"…So you just saw true love bloom," Jon summarized. This time, Lottie really did slam her face into the 'romantic' table.

…

That night, Lottie stayed up late to finish paperwork, as usual. But this time she also used it as an excuse to get her emotions back in check. So she was even more surprised than usual when the door opened at a time when she was usually the only person up.

"Hey Lottie," the arrival said as they walked in. Lottie looked up to see Digby and immediately hid her face behind her computer to wipe her tears, trying not to smear her makeup.

"Ohh, hi Digby," she said quickly and nervously, lifting the top of her face to look at him. "What are you doing here? It's late."

"Well, I knew you were really upset about something tonight, so I got you these." He pulled a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back. It was everything Lottie could do to keep her jaw from dropping.

"U-upset? Me? No…" Lottie insisted as Digby laid the flowers on her desk.

"Well… You can keep the flowers anyway. I don't think Aurora gives refunds.

"…Thank you," Lottie said, making eye contact with him for the first time since he held her hands.

"No problem. I'd do anything for you." Lottie chose to take this as a romantic statement, although she knew he had told this to most of his platonic friends before. "By the way, did the thing you were waiting for ever come?"

Lottie thought about this for a moment, and looked down at the bouquet. "Uh, yeah. Yeah it did."

 **WHEW! 4,000 plus words. This is like, a record or something.**

 **So yeah, if Cranston had actually moved away, we would've seen the Villagers arriving at Marshal's café in this chapter like the last chapter teased. Then he would've announced his plans, and his last day in town would've been the fishing tourney. It would've been pretty cool… Too bad.**

 **But this is a nice chapter too, right?**

 **Happy early Valentine's Day! May all your Digbys stop being oblivious.**


	4. New Beginnings

**Sorry for the inactivity! I got hit with a serious case of writer's block, and then I forgot to play Animal Crossing for a few months (whoops?). But with the amiibo update coming soon (YAY! ROSIE CAN MOVE IN) I've picked it back up and now I guess I should probably update this.**

 **This chapter was going to be a giant author's note describing what's changed in my town since last update, but then I came up with a much funnier and more interesting way to do it so here goes.**

Isabelle was, as usual, hard at work at her desk in the mayor's office, scribbling away at paperwork that had been piling up for a long time now. As she carefully signed a form, trying her best to keep her hand steady, she was suddenly hit with a painful cramp as her pen slipped and left a giant line through the letter A in her name. She sighed as she shook her paw, trying to get the pain to go away so she could get back to work.

Her eyes floated up from said work when she heard the door open and close. "Oh, hello Mayor Jon," she greeted cheerfully as the boy walked into the office and waved. She returned to work for a few moments before something dawned on her.

"OH MY GOSH! YOU'RE ALIVE!" she shrieked, leaping over the desk and tackling Jon in a desperate hug, which caught the mayor off guard.

"Of course I'm alive," he responded, confused.

"Well, you hadn't left your house in so long…" Isabelle answered, sheepishly stepping away. "Everyone was, uh… a little worried, and you know how this town handles rumors."

Jon chuckled a little. "Sorry about that. I guess I got a little distracted playing _Hyrule Warriors_."

Isabelle stared at him. "Um, Mayor Jon… you've been gone for six months."

An awkward beat passed as this processed in Jon's head. "Oh." Isabelle returned to her desk as Jon followed. "So how's everything been? What's changed in six months?"

"Well," Isabelle started her response, sorting through paperwork again, "Nan, Cranston, Bruce, Mac, and Elise have all moved away… and we have some new villagers, too. Gwen, Samson, and Margie. You should go introduce yourself, they've both been here awhile and I'm sure they'd love to meet you. Let's see, what else… We finished work on the Village Park, and we're currently raising money for the surveillance center Mr. Resetti asked for. I think that's it."

Jon nodded slowly, processing this information. "Thanks, Isabelle."

"Anytime," Isabelle responded as Jon headed for the door. "Uh, but I'd rather not… have to do this again. Get some fresh air sometimes."

"Right,"Jon chuckled sheepishly.

…

"Heya Brewster," Paula mumbled groggily as she walked into the café. The pigeon behind the bar gave a slight nod as a greeting, watching Paula stumble to a stool and take a seat.

"…Can I help you?" Brewster asked as Paula rubbed her eyes.

"Nnn… coffee please," Paula answered through a yawn. Brewster nodded and got to work.

"Slept in today, did you?" the animal next to her questioned. Paula affirmed with a slow nod, her eyes too fuzzy to look to see who she was talking to. "I totally get that, man. Sometimes it takes a little longer to get your blood flowing, y'know?"

"Uhhh… sure," Paula replied, still too drowsy to understand what he had just said. "How's my coffee coming?"

"Here you go," Brewster responded, sliding a small cup towards Paula.

"Well, man," the person to the left of Paula started, "I better get on the roll. Thanks for the brew, Brew." Brewster nodded as his customer stood up and walked out of the building.

Paula, meanwhile, had just finished off her coffee and finally waking up. "Mmm, that's some good stuff! By the way, who was that guy who just left?"

Brewster stared blankly for a moment, polishing a glass. "…An old friend."

"Oh… Y'know, he sounded kinda familiar," Paula mused. "Anyway, did you ever come up with a name for that summer brew you've been working on?"

…

"Hi, sweetheart," Aurora greeted as the Re-Tail door closed behind her, ringing the bell to alert Reese that a new customer had arrived.

"Oh! Aurora! I was hoping to see you today," Reese said, walking over to the penguin.

"Huh? Me?" Aurora questioned.

"Yes, I need your help," Reese started to explain. "But we have to talk quickly, before my Cy-Guy gets back. You know that the last fireworks show of the summer is in two days, right?"

Aurora nodded. "It's all anyone in town can talk about, twinkle. It's bittersweet."

"Well, it just so happens that it falls on the same day as our anniversary." Reese smiled fondly. "We'll have been married for ten years."

"Oh, that's wonderful! Congratulations, twinkle!" Aurora squealed.

"Thank you. But I want to make that night special, and I heard that you're an expert."

Aurora blinked. "I am?"

"Well, I saw your commercial for your flower shop…"

"Well, but that was-"

"So you'll do it?"

Aurora suddenly realized she wasn't being given a choice. "Uhh… sure, twinkle."

"Wonderful! Thank you. You'll still be up at 11, correct?"

"I guess so…"

"Great! I'll be over at 11:05 sharp. See you then!"

Aurora nodded kindly before turning to leave. "What have I gotten myself into…?" she mumbled under her breath.

…

"Hi Jon, ba-dum, ba!" Margie greeted as the mayor approached her. "I've been meaning to ask you a question. I heard that you run up and down the stairs for exercise. Is that true?"

"Uh, where in the world did you hear that?" Jon asked, confused.

"Samson said that he overheard you mentioning it."

"Figures…" Jon mumbled. "No, that's not true."

"Oh," Margie remarked, a little disappointed that her juicy gossip was false. "Well, did you hear Nan was back in town?"

"Really?" Jon asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Yep! She's going to the DJ K.K. concert tonight," the elephant answered. "You should say hello."

"I think I will," Jon nodded, smiling. "Thanks Margie." Margie waved as Jon ran off towards main street.

"Jon!" Jon screeched to a halt, turning to see who was calling him, a little impatient since he wanted to get to Club LOL before DJ K.K.'s show ended. Behind him, Aurora was running as fast as she could to catch up with him.

"Thank goodness I caught you, twinkle," she said, breathing heavily from running across town. "I really need your help!"

Jon glanced at the time. He still had an hour. "What's up?"

"I don't really have time to explain, I have to be home in five minutes," Aurora replied. "Can you just come with me?"

Jon looked in the general direction of Club LOL and sighed, knowing that he couldn't say no. "Sure, why not."

…

"Cy, honey, can you finish locking up?" Reese asked as she flipped the open sign around. "I have… somewhere important to be."

Cyrus looked up from his desk. "I guess so. Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"Oh, just visiting with a friend," Reese replied. Before Cyrus could question any further, she was out the door.

"Helloooo?" Reese called as she knocked on Aurora's door. As she promised, it was 11:05 sharp.

"Come on in," Aurora replied, her exhaustion obvious through her voice. Reese opened the door and saw the young penguin sitting on the couch, breathing heavily as Jon fanned her.

"Are you okay?" Reese asked, distracted from her mission by worry.

"I'm just fine, twinkle," Aurora replied. "I had to run across town… twice… so I'm a little tired. You can sit down."

Reese nodded, daintily sitting on Aurora's other couch, where she could see Aurora face-to-face. Jon sat next to Aurora. "I hope you don't mind, I asked Jon to help me," Aurora noted.

"That's perfectly okay!" Reese answered. "The more help the better."

"So what are we actually here to do?" Jon interrupted. "Aurora didn't really explain before she dragged me across town. And uh, how long will it take?"

"My wedding anniversary is on the same day as the final fireworks show," Reese explained briefly. "So I wanted Aurora's help planning a big event."

Jon waited for a moment for Reese to answer his second question before realizing it had been ignored. "And I was hoping you could help, since you came up with the idea for the commercial for my flower shop," Aurora added.

"I see," Jon remarked thoughtfully, glancing at Aurora's clock. He still had fifty minutes or so to finish up. "Well, to be honest, I'm not really an expert either. But I know someone who is."

"Who?" Reese asked.

"Let me call her," Jon replied. "I'll put her on speaker so you can explain to her."

…

"Aw, how cute!" Rosie squealed through the phone after Reese explained for the third time.

"Can you help, Rosie?" Jon asked.

"Of course, silly!" the cat answered. "Let's see… Reese, how did you and Cyrus first meet?"

"Well, we're high school sweethearts," Reese replied, smiling fondly at the memories as a blush appeared on her face. "I was a cheerleader, and we met at a football game."

"Was he a player?" Jon asked.

"Heavens, no," Reese giggled. "He, uh, was sitting in the front row just above where the cheerleaders were. During a wave, someone pushed him and he fell over the edge of the bleachers and into my lap."

"And it was love at first sight?" Aurora asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Well… it was for him. I punched him in the nose."

Jon, Aurora, and Rosie all burst out laughing at this reveal. Reese blushed harder.

"But he was relentless," Reese continued, smiling even wider. "I said no when he asked me out the first few times. Then we got paired together for an assignment, and I realized how charming and adorable he was…" She sighed blissfully.

"And the rest is history," Rosie remarked, the sounds of a pencil scratching audible through the phone. "I think I can work that stuff in. And how did he propose?"

"The first time, or the second?"

The other three sat quietly for a beat, unsure how to respond.

"I, for one, really want to hear how the first time went," Jon remarked.

…

"This is all really great stuff, silly!" Rosie said. "I think I know what we need to do now… But it'll take a little bit of work. I don't suppose you can take a day off at Re-Tail?"

Reese was shocked at this. "I-I don't know. I've never taken a day off before."

"I can run it for you," Aurora offered.

Reese considered this. "Okay, I think that'll work. Stop by before we open and I'll give you the rundown."

"Can Jon, Reese, and I stop by your flower shop while you aren't there?" Rosie asked.

"Of course, twinkle," Aurora replied.

"Okay, yay!" Rosie cheered. "You two meet me there once Aurora is settled in and we'll get this plan in motion, okay, silly?"

"Thank you so much, Rosie!" Reese said.

"Of course! I love a good romantic gesture! Okay, bye-bye!" With that, Rosie hung up.

"Okay, I'll see you all in the morning then," Jon stated, grabbing his phone and looking at the time before bolting out the door.

"I guess he's in a hurry," Aurora mused.

…

"No, no, _nooo!_ " Jon whined as he reached the Club LOL door and smacked it a few times. It was 12:01, and Dr. Shrunk was walking away from locking the door when Jon crossed the tracks.

"Something wrong, my love?" Jon turned around. Sure enough, Nan was standing at the top of the stairs.

"Nan!" Jon yelled happily, running up the stairs and embracing the goat. For a second, Nan was caught off-guard, but quickly relaxed into the hug. "I-I missed you," Jon said awkwardly as he moved away.

"I missed you too," Nan replied.

"I feel kind of bad I wasn't there to… y'know, say goodbye," he explained quietly.

"That's okay. I'm sorry I left without saying anything." They fell silent for a moment. "So how have things been in Village?" Nan finally asked.

"Good," Jon replied. "Paula still talks about you a lot. She won't admit she misses you though."

Nan giggled. "That sounds like Paula alright."

"And how have you been?"

"Wonderful," Nan answered. "Aniville is a lot of fun. I've made lots of new friends, too, my love. But I guess there's a part of me that misses Village. That's why I'm back today."

"Well, it's not the same without you," Jon replied. Another beat of silence passed before they were interrupted by a train horn.

"That's my train," Nan remarked. "I have to get back home."

"Right. I'll walk you to the train station."

…

"Bye Nan," Aurora, who had joined Jon and Nan on their walk to the station alongside Pudge and Paula, whispered tearfully as she embraced the goat.

"I miss you all already," Nan sighed as she moved to hug Pudge. Paula desperately tried not to sob.

"Visit often, okay?" Pudge begged. "And don't forget me! Please!"

"I could never forget you, my love," Nan replied, wiping a tear away from her eyes and taking a step towards Paula. Before she could say anything, the bear completely lost it, sobbing uncontrollably into the much smaller goat's shoulder.

"Hey," Nan whispered comfortingly, ignoring the pain shooting down her spine as all of Paula's weight rested on her. "It's okay."

"I just miss you so much, you idiot," Paula said, sniffling but standing up.

"Best friends?" Nan asked, holding out her hand. Paula wiped her face before taking Nan's hand.

"Best friends."

A quick pause later, Nan added, "Did you just use the hand that you wiped snot on?"

"Do you want me to answer that question?"

"No." They laughed and hugged once more.

"We're _all_ going to stay best friends, right?" Nan asked, looking between all of her companions.

"Of course," Jon replied.

"I hate to interrupt, eek eek," Porter spoke from behind Nan. "But the train has to leave."

"Right," Nan said, embarrassed. She stepped through the door. As it slid closed, she ran to a seat and waved through the window."Goodbye!" she cried as loudly as she could, almost completely drowned out as the train started. "I'll come back to visit soon, I promise!"

Jon, Aurora, Pudge, and Paula waved, leaning over the tracks to keep the train in sight as long as possible. Once it went over a hill, they began to walk off the platform.

"Do you think she'll stop by tomorrow?" Pudge asked. Jon and Aurora laughed.

"I hope so, but I doubt it," Aurora replied.

"Aw… Hey, maybe she'll be in town for the fireworks, I'm lame!" Pudge suggested. Jon and Aurora were taken off-guard by the end of his sentence.

"Uh, Pudge…" Jon started slowly. "Did you just call yourself lame?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean my new catchphrase? Paula came up with it! Isn't it so cool, I'm lame?" Aurora tried not to giggle as Jon turned to Paula, who looked flustered.

"I-I can explain," she insisted. "It was a joke! I didn't think he would take it… y'know, seriously."

"What are you guys talking about, I'm lame?" Pudge asked, confused.

"We'll explain later," Aurora sighed, shaking her head.

 **That's all I got this time.**

 **I seem to write really long chapters for this story a lot? Weird…**


	5. Fireworks

**Another long time between updates. Sorry. Here we go!**

Cyrus wandered drowsily into Re-Tail at 9:30, sipping his coffee from The Roost as usual. He always showed up late for work since he would be so exhausted from the night before. As a result, he rarely knew when, or why, Reese would leave in the morning.

"Hi, twinkle!" Aurora greeted as he headed towards his desk. Cyrus paused for a moment, vaguely recognizing the fact that something was amiss in his tired state. It took him a few seconds before he figured it out.

"Aurora?" he questioned. "Where's Reese?"

"Oh, uh… she's… taking a day off," Aurora answered. It wasn't a lie, per se, it was just only a half-truth.

"Uh… okay…" Cyrus almost asked why she hadn't told him but quickly realized that if she had and he said this, he would likely get in trouble for not listening. So he shrugged it off and got to work on the refurbishments that had been waiting overnight.

…

"So do you have a specific flower in mind?" Rosie asked as she, Reese, and Jon walked into Aurora's shop.

Reese gasped at the shelves full of flowers. "They're all so pretty! I can't pick!"

"Well, you'd better come up with something quick, because we have a lot more stops to make and very little time to make them, silly," Rosie pointed out.

"More stops?" Jon questioned. "Where else do we need to go?"

"After we order the flowers, we need to stop by Mint's place to order an ice cream cake. Then I need you to get Cyrus to try to get him a new outfit while Reese and I head to the boutique in the city and stop by Pango's spa for some pampering. Lastly, the hotel!"

"Why the hotel?" Reese asked.

"I need somewhere to stay so I can watch how this turns out, silly!" Rosie replied. "Also, I heard their restaurant is top notch."

…

Jon still wasn't sure what his plan was as he walked into Re-Tail.

"Hey, squirt!" Cyrus greeted, only looking up for a second from his work. Aurora, on the other hand, made her way over to Jon, ignoring Gwen, who had been examining the furniture and asking questions.

"What are you doing here, twinkle?" she asked.

"Rosie wants me to get Cyrus a new outfit," Jon explained.

Aurora looked confused. "Okay… besides the more obvious problems with that plan, how do you think you're going to convince Cyrus to get out of here with that much work piled up?"

"Don't know. And what do you mean by 'more obvious problems'?"

"The fact that you don't know proves my point," Aurora sighed. "Good luck, twinkle."

Jon shook his head and walked over to Cyrus. "Heyyyy… Cyrus."

Cyrus paused and looked at Jon, an eyebrow raised. "Uh, hello, squirt."

"So uh… your anniversary is tomorrow, right?" Jon asked awkwardly.

"That's right. Ten years. I'm planning on taking Reese to the Roost on a date."

"…Wow." Jon and Aurora made eye contact, both showing their disappointment. "Well, don't you need, like… a tuxedo? Or something?"

"I have my wedding tux," he responded. "Besides, it's not like it's a huge deal, squirt."

"Okay, I can't stand this, dahling," Gwen sighed. "Cyrus, we're going shopping." She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the door.

"What? What about work?" Cyrus argued, desperately trying to wiggle loose.

"Jon will handle it."

"I did not sign up for this!" Jon argued, even though Gwen was already out the door.

…

"This place is nice…" Reese sighed happily as she relaxed in the hot tub with Pango.

"No kidding," Rosie agreed, thoroughly enjoying her massage from Leonardo. "Don't hold back, silly."

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Reese asked.

"Well, according to Jon, the best place to watch the fireworks will be the park, silly," Rosie explained. "So we'll just have to set up a little table for the flowers and cake and get Cyrus over there. Plus, I have a little surprise for you. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it is, silly!"

"Sounds exciting," Reese sighed, relaxing further into the tub. "Thank you for all your hard work, Rosie."

"My pleasure, silly!" Rosie assured. "Ready to go to the hotel for something to eat?"

"Sure," Reese agreed, climbing out of the hot tub and reaching for a towel. Rosie rolled over and jumped off of the massage table before walking over to Leonardo and handing him a slip of paper.

"Call me some time," she suggested with a wink. Reese rolled her eyes before following the cat out of the spa.

…

"Is everything ready?" Aurora asked, running ahead of Jon, Cyrus, Gwen to where Rosie, Leonardo, and Reese were setting up. The fireworks show was to begin shortly, and Jon, Aurora, and Gwen had gotten Cyrus dressed to "go find Reese so that he can take her on an anniversary date".

"Yes, flexin," Leonardo responded, standing up from having tightened the last screw on the picnic table and wiping the sweat from his brow. "One picnic table, just like you asked."

"Thanks so much, silly!" Rosie clapped and hugged her new beau. Aurora walked over to Reese.

"You look so beautiful, twinkle!" she complimented, admiring the alpaca's gorgeous white gown.

"Thanks," Reese blushed a little at the compliment. "I just hope I don't get it too muddy."

As Jon, Gwen, and Cyrus approached, Rosie lit a candelabra before stepping aside with Leonardo and Aurora. When Cyrus walked into view, his eye was immediately drawn to the elaborate setup and, mostly, Reese's dress.

"What the he…ck?" he gasped as Jon and Gwen slipped over to join Rosie, Leonardo, and Aurora. "Reese, did you do all this?"

"No, it was mostly Rosie, Aurora, and Jon," she explained. "But I wanted to do something special for you for our tenth anniversary instead of coffee dates like we always do." She paused for a second. "Not that I don't enjoy our coffee dates. I just thought that since it's been a decade, maybe we should do something different."

"Well, that was very thoughtful of you," Cyrus smiled, taking her hand.

"JUST SHUT UP AND KISS HER ALREADY!" Rosie squealed impatiently. Jon, Gwen, and Aurora rolled their eyes.

As Reese and Cyrus's lips touched, the first firework flew into the air and exploded into a heart shape as the surrounding villagers cheered.

"Wait, you mentioned a surprise, flexin," Leonardo whispered to Rosie. "What is it?"

"It's not an it, silly," Rosie responded gleefully. "Here he comes." She pointed to the bridge, where K.K. Slider was approaching with his guitar, Dr. Shrunk following close behind with a box for K.K. to sit on.

"I heard you two were celebrating a very special anniversary," K.K. said, catching the alpaca couple's attention. "Mind if I play you a little ditty I wrote?"

"W-Well, of course not!" Cyrus responded as he and Reese took a seat next to each other at the picnic table.

"Thanks, friend," K.K. smiled, sitting on the box. "This is a number I like to call K.K. Love Song." As K.K. began to strum his guitar, Reese and Cyrus snuggled up close together and began to enjoy the ice cream cake.

"They're so happy," Aurora smiled, tearing up a little. Leonardo and Rosie took each other's paw and Rosie leaned on Leonardo's shoulder.

"I think this was a success, dahlings," Gwen smiled, putting a wing over both Aurora and Jon's shoulders.

"Let's leave them alone and go enjoy the fireworks," Jon suggested, an idea which was well-received.

…

"You know, this is actually is the first time I've ever been to Village," Rosie remarked to Jon as they, Leonardo, Aurora, and Gwen laid in the grass, staring at the sky. "I think it's even better than you say it is."

"Thanks," Jon smiled. "We put a lot of effort into it." Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "Say… why don't you move in?"

"What?" Rosie asked, taken off guard. "W-Well… I don't know, I mean… I'd have to pack all my stuff, and…"

"Come on, at least consider it?"

Rosie sighed. "We'll see."

 **Yay! I finally finished the summer! …In November! (be quiet, no one asked you.)**

 **I have a couple of plot points I really want to get to, so hopefully, we'll see an update soon! Thanks for reading! Please leave a review. Even if it's negative, I want to know what people think of my story! (Don't be a jerk though. Constructive criticism is cool. Jerkiness is not.)**


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